Looking back on 2012: What were your favorite stories?

Needham cheered on an Olympic gold medalist, Brookline banned plastic bags, and communities everywhere confronted an onslaught of furry and feathered residents—from hungry coyotes to emboldened wild turkeys. Click through to look back at some of your favorite local stories from 2012.
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The elusive young, male bear, estimated at about 200 lbs., was found in a tree and foiled a first attempt to tranquilize it. It then fell out of the tree and was successfully tranquilized and removed.
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Pictured: A view of the auditorium in the new Wellesley High School. The auditorium seats 704 people, and has an improved acoustic system. It is also equipped with an energy efficient displacement ventilation system.
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Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe

Natick’s athletic teams also got a new name, the Red Hawks, replacing the short-lived Red and Blue as a substitute for the controversial Redmen name.

Pictured: Behind a basket of supportive buttons, Matt Boland, 17, sided with a Natick residents group who collected 1,400-plus signatures to keep the Natick mascot name "Redmen."
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Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe

Plans to build a new Concord-Carlisle High School stalled when the state suspended funding, saying the project had ballooned past its original budget and scope. The state later said it would reinstate its contribution—but only if the school district met a list of conditions.
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WS Development

Development deals

New developments are changing the local landscape.

“The Street,” formerly known as the Chestnut Hill Shopping Center, is welcoming several new tenants, including an upscale movie theater, as part of a $50 million revamp, rendered at left.
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Bill Greene/Globe Staff

And the old Polaroid property (pictured) in Waltham is being blasted — much to the consternation of neighbors feeling the earth move — to make way for a major retail and office complex.
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